Tobacco Research

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Tobacco Investigators

Dr. Peter Shields: Dr. Shields is tenured professor in the Departments of Oncology and Medicine at Georgetown University. He is the Associate Director for Cancer Control and Population Sciences in the LCCC, and the Program Leader for Cancer Genetics and Epidemiology. Dr. Shields' focus of research is on gene-environment interactions for cancer risk and nicotine addiction. He develops and validates new biomarkers, both genotypic and phenotypic, and so his research includes the integration of basic science into epidemiology (molecular epidemiology). He has an established record for working with investigators at the Karolinska Institute. Dr. Shields serves on editorial boards of major journals such as Carcinogenesis and Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. He was the first elected chair to lead the Molecular Epidemiology Group of the American Association of Cancer Research. In the area of Harm Reduction, Dr. Shields served on the IOM Committee and was the primary drafter of two chapters (11: Exposure and Biomarker Assessment and 12: Cancer). He also served on the NCI Tobacco Research Implementation Group, the NCI Lung Cancer Progress Review Group and the NIH Epidemiology and Disease-2 Study Section. Dr. Shields has led other highly integrated research projects. He was the PI of the Georgetown component of the PENN-Georgetown TTURC, and is the PI of a Department of Defense Breast Cancer Center of Excellence. Dr. Shields remains clinically active, practicing hematology and oncology. Thus, he has a diverse set of skills, and experience, for conducting transdisciplinary research.

Dr. Jerry Rice: Dr. Rice is a Distinguished Professor of Oncology at the Georgetown University. He is an internationally recognized expert in experimental carcinogenesis and in carcinogenic hazard identification. During his 30-year laboratory and administrative career at the NCI, he published more than 250 research and review papers on tumor promotion (including the mouse skin system proposed in this application), identification of chemical carcinogens, transplacental carcinogenesis and the molecular pathology of human and experimental tumors. During his more recent career with the World Health Organization he directed the prestigious and internationally renowned IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. His accomplishments at the WHO include the 2002 Monographs review of tobacco smoke and involuntary smoking, in which cancers in five organ sites were newly recognized as attributable to cigarette smoking and environmental tobacco smoke was identified as carcinogenic to humans. Dr. Rice continues his involvement with the IARC Monographs program and will serve as chair of the working group to re-evaluate tobacco-associated nitrosamines and smokeless tobacco products in October 2004.

Dr. Xiao Bin:

Dr. Fung-Lung Chung: Dr. Chung's research focuses on the study of the mechnaisms of cancer induction by tobacco carcinogens and how we can use the knowledge gained to prevent lung cancer development by using chemopreventive agents.

Dr. Saijun Fan: Saijun Fan, MD, PhD, joined Lombardi as an Associate Professor of Oncology in April 2003. Dr. Fan's studies are on the effect of nicotine and nicotine-derived nitrosamino ketone (a known lung carcinogen) on apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic agents in lung cancer. The preliminary studies from his laboratory suggest that nicotine and NNK activate a Met-Akt-PAK1 survival signal pathway as a potential mechanism for their cytoprotection in lung cancer. These important studies may yield new strategies for the prevention and control of lung cancer related to smoking.

Dr. Gary Filerman:

Dr. Amanda Graham: Amanda Graham, PhD, is a clinical psychologist who joined Lombardi’s Cancer Control Program in 2006 with an appointment as Assistant Professor of Oncology. She received her PhD from the Chicago Medical School and following a clinical internship at the Yale University School of Medicine, she was a research fellow, then Assistant Professor at Brown University. Dr. Graham’s current research interest is developing innovative approaches to translate behavioral science into practice.  She is principal investigator on an R01 grant that tests the effectiveness of a widely utilized Internet smoking cessation treatment (QuitNet) alone and in conjunction with an existing telephone quitline. 

Dr. Janie Heath: Janie Heath, PhD, APRN, BC-ANP, ACNP, is Assistant Professor, Director, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner and Acute & Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Programs at Georgetown University. She has authored several data-based papers that focus on tobacco education in nursing and tobacco control policy papers. Currently she is the Director of the tobacco cessation program for GUMC where she does clinical practice, research, and community initiatives. Her primary research program involves the effect of the "Rx for Change: Clinician Assisted Tobacco Cessation Curriculum" on the self-efficacy of teaching tobacco cessation among nursing faculty and the clinical effect (helping patients quit) among healthcare providers who receive tobacco cessation training.

Dr. Michael Johnson: Dr Johnson has considerable experience with transgenic models of carcinogenesis modes. He established and for several years directed the Georgetown University Transgenic Facility and had generated numerous novel transgenic models. He came to Lombardi as an ICI postdoctoral fellow to study the impact of endocrine therapy on mammary gland biology and carcinogenesis. He was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology in 1993 and Oncology in 1999. Dr .Johnson has extensive experience with primary epithelial culture systems.

Dr. Kenneth Kellar: Dr. Ken Kellar has studied neuronal nicotinic cholinergic receptors for more than 20 years. His lab initially characterized the pharmacology of brain nicotinic receptors that bind [3H]acetylcholine with high affinity, and he has since developed new, higher affinity and more selective nicotinic receptor ligands, including [3H]cytisine, [3H]epibatidine and [125I]epibatidine. His lab was the first to discover that repeated exposure to nicotine increases nicotinic receptors in rat brain. The Kellar lab was also one of the first to demonstrate that nicotinic receptors are located on dopamine axons, providing a direct mechanism by which nicotine can mediate dopamine release and thus activate reward pathways. Research in the Kellar lab is currently focused on understanding the structure, function and regulation of neuronal nicotinic cholinergic receptor subtypes in the nervous system. Dr. Kellar has over 100 publications and is an internationally recognized leader in this field.

Dr. Christopher Loffredo: Dr. Loffredo is an Assistant Professor of Oncology and member of Lombardi's Cancer Genetics and Epidemiology Program. He received his PhD in toxicology, but performed most of his thesis work as an epidemiologist. He currently is a standing member of the NIH EPIC Study Section, and has RO1 funding from the National Cancer Institute to study gene-environment interactions using a case-control study design for hepatocellular carcinoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Egypt. Dr. Loffredo is an investigator in the PENN/Georgetown TTURC, where he is directing a project on genetics and smoking behavior measured by topography and biomarkers. There are over 200 subjects accrued to data.

Dr. Robert Russell: Dr. Russell is Director of the Lombardi's Molecular Pathology Laboratory. He is a board certified veterinary pathologist, experienced in conducting animal model studies. He has experience with mouse skin painting model using tobacco smoke condensate and providing histological evaluation for pre-neoplastic and early changes in tumorigenesis.

Dr. Stephanie Spernak: Dr. Spernak is an Assistant Professor of Oncology at Lombardi. She is a behavioral scientist and is currently coordinating the Quest clinical trial at Georgetown, under the direction of Joni Jensen and Dr. Hatsukami at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Kathryn Taylor: Dr. Taylor is an Associate Professor of Oncology and member of Lombardi's Cancer Control Program. An experienced clinical psychologist, Dr. Taylor has significant expertise in conducting cancer control studies, as the PI for 1) a multi-site, randomized intervention with breast cancer patients, 2) a randomized patient education intervention regarding prostate cancer screening, 3) an ongoing randomized trial of treatment decision making among men with early stage prostate cancer, and 4) a recently funded R01, a multi-site randomized trial regarding decision making and patient education for men considering prostate cancer screening. Dr. Taylor has tobacco-specific research experience as PI on an observational study in the NLST, an observational study of head/neck and lung cancer patients' continued tobacco use following diagnosis. She has examined tobacco use among African Americans and recent Haitian and Caribbean immigrants, has clinical experience in nicotine dependence treatment, and recently co-authored a review paper on smoking cessation interventions among cancer patients.

Dr. Kenneth Tercyak: Dr. Tercyak is an Assistant Professor of Oncology and Pediatrics, the Director of Pediatric Psychology Research and Service in the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Lombardi, and a member of the Cancer Control Program. He served as Project Director for an NCI Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center grant focused on the natural history of adolescent cigarette smoking. His primary research interests include the prevention and control of cancer/tobacco risks among youth, behavioral interventions to promote youth health, psychosocial oncology and genetic testing, and cancer survivorship. Dr. Tercyak holds a Career Development Award from the NCI focused on pediatric cancer/tobacco prevention and control and an R01 from the National Human Genome Research Institute focused on genetic testing outcomes; his work on cancer survivorship is supported by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Dr. Yun-Ling Zheng: Dr. Zheng is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oncology. Dr. Zheng has outstanding training in cancer genetics and epidemiology. She is board certified clinical cytogeneticist. Her work on using fluorescent in situ hybridization for prenatal genetic diagnosis and screening is widely recognized. She also has training in epidemiology and recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health with an MPH degree. Dr. Zheng participated in several molecular epidemiological studies of genetic susceptibility of lung cancer, in which she plays an important role for formulation of hypotheses, study design, performing laboratory assays and data analysis, and has successfully developed and evaluated several genetic risk biomarkers for lung cancer, including mutagen sensitivity, DNA damage-induced G2/M arrest, telomerase activity in tumor tissue and functional genetic polymorphisms.